UIUC MCB vs. Rutgers Mol. Bioscience

[ycl]

Do anyone know about these two programs? I really need some advise here.

Both program fit my research interest, UIUC has higher rank but Rutgers provides better offer/stipend. And I'm not sure about the reputation between these two programs, does anyone have any thoughts?

Edited April 10, 2014 by ycl

[MackF]

Don't focus entirely on rank.  Go where you think you can do the best research.  Its also helpful to see what kinds of jobs grads from each program are getting.  Lastly, I'd look for a place that makes you happy, you're going to be there for 5 or more years, so you might as well be comfortable in your surroundings.  Good luck to you!

[ss2player]

Don't focus entirely on rank.  Go where you think you can do the best research.  Its also helpful to see what kinds of jobs grads from each program are getting.  Lastly, I'd look for a place that makes you happy, you're going to be there for 5 or more years, so you might as well be comfortable in your surroundings.  Good luck to you!

 

Great advice, but as a Rutgers alum, I would advise against going there over UIUC just because the amount of incompetence can be staggering. They don't call it the "RU Screw" for nothing! Also, central NJ where Rutgers is located can be expensive to live in, which is likely why the stipend is higher. Maybe things are better since they merged with UMDNJ, but my experience there on the research side was underwhelming at best.

[sqxz]

I don't know anything about these particular programs, but I did visit both Rutgers and Illinois for their Biophysics/Computational Biology programs. I have decided to attend the University of Illinois, so you should keep my bias in mind as you read this note.

 

The stipend I was offered at Rutgers is more than $8000 more than what I was offered at UIUC. When you factor in cost of living, the stipend offered by Rutgers is still higher, but not by much. I recommend using this tool <http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/> for estimating how far your stipend offers will go in each city. I will also say that, at Rutgers, a huge red flag for me was that a current grad student told me he was offered a stipend similar to mine, but, when he actually got into the program, the actual stipend he received was somewhat less than he had been promised. (Yikes!)

 

Another red flag was that some current students at Rutgers pointed out that, while my offer states that I should expect to receive a full assistantship for each year I am in the program, the kind of assistantship is not specified. It seems that students of PIs who don't have much funding have to teach pretty much every semester to get paid. As a TA, it is my impression that the amount you are paid at Rutgers seems to be set by the university, and this amount seems to be significantly less than what I was offered. Some current students told me that the TA union at Rutgers recently went on strike (or maybe just threatened to go on strike?) to get higher wages and better working conditions. They also qualified this by saying that there had recently been talk that they might go on strike again because Rutgers had been discussing converting some TA positions into lecturer positions, which are not eligible for certain benefits, or something to that effect. Perhaps this is a common problem at many universities that I am simply ignorant to, but this was certainly the only school where such a problem was brought up (unprompted, I might add).

 

At least in my program, I have been told it is quite a competitive process to get a teaching assistantship at Illinois, and it is explicitly stated in my offer letter that most students are supported by research assistantships after their first year. I should note that Rutgers students that I talked to who worked in labs with well funded PIs did not seem to have much of a teaching load. However, even these students said their stipends were not high enough to live close to campus. The public transportation in Piscataway and New Brunswick is not as good as it is in Chapaign-Urbana, so these students have to drive to work every day. This was not something I wanted to do.

 

In general, I would say that the students at Rutgers seemed MUCH more concerned about money than the students at Illinois were. To give some concrete examples, at Illinois, students talked about buying houses or condos, while at Rutgers, four students discussed at length how they were going to divide up a $9.00 bill... For me, the contrast was pretty dramatic.

 

Piscataway is arguably a better location on paper than Urbana-Champaign. It is well connected to New York and Philadelphia by train, but, then again, Champaign-Urbana is only a two to three hour drive from Chicago, St. Louis, and Indianapolis. There are even regular trains and buses from Chicago to Champaign and back. I had expected Champaign-Urbana to feel like a suburb, and I was surprised to see high-rise buildings in downtown Champaign and Urbana. One of the current Illinois graduate students characterized the cities as "micro urban," and, without having lived there yet, I have to say I completely agreed with her characterization based on what I saw.

 

I feel like I had a great research match with some of the professors at Rutgers, but I feel like I have just as good of a match with more professors at Illinois. The program at Illinois is also larger and seems more established, which I like. Finally, it seems to me that the program at Illinois is better funded and has access to more resources than the program at Rutgers. These may be factors you want to consider for your own programs.

 

Finally, as you mention, Illinois is ranked higher than Rutgers in biology. In the latest US News rankings, they are also ranked much higher in chemistry (6 vs 60), physics (9 vs 29), and computer science (5 vs 34). A similar story is told in the 2010 US News rankings and NRC rankings. Mine is an extremely interdisciplinary program with professors who hold appointments in all of these departments, so these rankings are relevant to my program. Overall, I think these rankings also paint the picture that Illinois is a more highly regarded university than Rutgers is, at least in the physical sciences. Of course, whether or not this is actually true is open to interpretation.

 

Obviously, the most important thing for you to consider is research fit. You say this is equal for the two programs, but I find that a little hard to believe. How many PIs at each university are doing research that interests you. Do you know which ones expect to be taking on new students into their labs in the fall? Does everyone you're interested in working for look like good mentors on paper? (Are they publishing frequently? Do their students seem to be getting first authorships on these papers? Do they have tenure yet? If not, is there any concern that they might not get it/you will be competing with them to present your research at conferences, etc./they might leave the university unexpectedly? Are they old enough that they might retire or pass away unexpectedly? Are their students getting jobs doing things that you are interested in doing after grad school?) How is the curriculum fit at both schools? (Do the classes sound interesting? How many do you have to take?) I believe these are all important questions to consider when you are evaluating your research and curriculum fit at different schools and when you are evaluating where to attend in the fall.

 

Anyway, as I said, I have decided to go to Illinois. I made this decision primarily because I believe the research and curriculum fit at Illinois is better than it is at Rutgers. I also believe it is the safer financial choice based on what I heard from current grad students, and I believe that the program at Illinois has a better reputation than Rutgers. Finally (and importantly), I was completely blown away by everyone I met and everything I saw when I visited Illinois. That's not to say I wasn't impressed when I visited Rutgers, but Illinois clearly left a more significant mark. This only happened with one other program where I didn't ultimately end up getting in, so, for me, the obvious choice was Illinois. My point is that I think it is definitely important to consider how good the programs are for you on paper, but I think it is also important to consider your gut instincts.

 

I hope this analysis has been helpful to you! Let me know if you have any questions I may be able to answer. Good luck making your decision!

Edited April 11, 2014 by sqxz